The late, great Greek philosopher of all health matters, Hippocrates, said: "Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food." He, also, of the modern Hippocratic Oath fame insisted: "First, do no harm." Agree. However, how many doctors worldwide are advising sickening nutrition advice? Now this is the rub, the cornerstone of rising rates of diabetes (and the metabolic syndrome) around the globe; a severe critique of current medical education, capture of the health care system by the food industry, and corruption of truth by the Big Egos.

Epidemiological public health studies worldwide show one worrying trajectory - the unstoppable upwards march in overweight and obese individuals in almost all countries, over the prior four decades. In particular, children under ten years old. The world is getting heavier. The consequences of obesity is a major drain on personal health and national debt.

The pertinent question is: what are the causes of this obesity epidemic? My considered view - as trained scientist, physician and psychiatrist - after extensive reading of nutrition science, and reflection over past five years, is clear:

THE SUGAR CONSTITUENTS OF THE MODERN FOOD SUPPLY. Sugar is the new tobacco, and exponentially more consequential to health, than all the cigarette ash combined.

Why? We all need to eat, but only a very small minority want to smoke cigarettes. There is no inner drive to smoke, unless addicted. But the appetite drive pumps up the instinct to live. That is, over seven billion souls on this planet, yesterday, today, and tomorrow must eat something, even if very little, every day they live on the planet, or even every few hours.

Food, including water, is essential for energy and cellular needs. For continuation of life!

Sobering facts: Over 850 million people every day do not know when their next meal will come from, and go to bed hungry, and are severely malnourished. Conversely, over one billion people are obese, overeating the sugar fattening foods, that supply quick energy, but the excess calories are stored, largely, as adipose tissue. They also suffer from malnutrition.

Paradoxically, a tiny minority suffer from anorexia nervosa, where there is the psychological refusal to eat, in the face of adequate or even over supply of food choices.They are also severely malnourished, and sadly, tragically, I have witnessed their slow death.

There are a lot of people passionate about nutrition, and a growing cohort of fundamentalist- like religious zealots preaching, banging on about all things food. There is a ginormous food- pharmaceutical industry that put profits well above optimal health of people and the sustainability of the natural resources of the planet. In fact, a deep knowledge of philosophy (to understand the fallacies of argument and distortion of facts, by Big Food and Big Pharma) is useful not to be hoodwinked into junk food jargon and unnecessary prescriptions for medicines (think statins for raised cholesterol).

My humble suggestion is for you to invest time and attention to appreciate the politics of power, and the profit motive of economics to prevent yourself falling hard to those vice-like invisible hands that manipulate your choices of food responses. Sugar addiction could turn out to be the largest, most devastating of all addictions.